News

Recent studies appear to confirm greater efficacy of combination treatments over vemurafenib monotherapy in improving progression-free survival for patients with melanoma.

Dermatology Times editorial adviser Elaine Siegfried, M.D., and adherence expert Steven Feldman, M.D., talk about the development of the Dr. Score physician rating site, patient satisfaction measurements and best practices for using surveys to convey empathy as well as improve interactions with patients.

Researchers with Dartmouth College have found that genes controlling telomere length of telomeres influence the risk of melanoma.

The Food and Drug Administration has approved apremilast (Otezla, Celgene) for the treatment of adult patients with moderate-to-severe plaque psoriasis, the second approval for the drug this year.

A new study suggests the combination therapy of afamelanotide implant and narrowband ultraviolet B (NB-UVB) phototherapy is more effective than NB-UVB therapy alone in treating vitiligo.

A 65-year-old woman reported that she had stepped on something three years earlier, and it just never healed.

Learn more about melanoma

Melanomas can appear similar to other diagnoses, a fact that clinicians should keep in mind and why they should use tools like dermoscopy as an adjunct to making a diagnosis of melanoma, an expert says.

An 8-year-old girl was brought in by her parents. They said she has had this enlarging "growth" on her leg for over 1 month, and they are worried it could be cancer. Learn more about tinea corporis

To fire a problem patient, an expert recommends remaining cordial, and communicating your intent in a letter that details why you're firing them, where else they can seek follow-up treatment and what could happen medically if they don't.

Often the desire for plastic surgery reflects a desire for improvements in quality of life, and it is the adolescent’s quality of life that parents and physicians should consider.

An expert in pediatric eczema offers insight on alternative eczema therapies to which he gives a “thumbs up,” “jury’s out” and “thumbs down.”

Results of a new study suggest that no matter what biologic they are treated with, older patients with rheumatoid arthritis face pretty much the same risk of developing herpes zoster.

Researchers at Dartmouth College have discovered that BRAFV600E, often found in metastatic melanoma, is capable of modifying normal cells surrounding the tumor to encourage disease progression.

A nonablative fractional laser improves the appearance of mature burn scars, according to results of a recent study.

Therapeutics is one of the most significant challenges in pediatric dermatology. Children have been identified as “therapeutic orphans”, with few options that have FDA-approved pediatric indications. Access to new and novel treatments like biologics is especially limited. Supportive legislation, beginning with the Best Pharmaceuticals for Children Act (bpca.nichd.nih.gov), has marked the dawn of a new era.

Hyperhidrosis is thought to be an adult condition, but children can present with it as well, a fact that clinicians should be cognizant of, so they can identify it and treat it.

When is the last time you took a good look at what your waiting area is signaling to the outside world? It is after all, the first physical impression of your clinic. Perhaps it is time to make some changes, or improve on some already excellent practices.

Physicians who blog have probably realized that it’s difficult to quantify and measure a blog's success. With so many different metrics available, how do you figure out which ones to focus on? Here are five key metrics that every blogging physician should pay attention to.

Adoption of mobile technology is the future of your practice’s ability to stay connected with your patients.

If melanoma is in the differential diagnosis of a skin lesion in a pediatric patient, clinicians should remove the lesion and might also consider checking the sentinel lymph node.

Toothpaste selection is important in the treatment of dry mouth and dry lips, but the sensitive teeth formulations do not appear to be problematic.

Positive results of an open-label, multicenter trial support the use of a gel body wash containing 0.006 percent sodium hypochlorite (CLn Body Wash, Top MD Skin Care) as an adjunct in the management of atopic dermatitis (AD), according to researchers who presented their findings at the 2014 annual meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology.

Children are not small adults, even when it comes to the way they present with melanoma.

Treating a rash in a pediatric patient undergoing cancer therapy can have long-term health implications.

One expert points to an example of how looks can deceive when deciding whether to treat skin rashes in pediatric patients undergoing cancer treatment.

In part 3 of our discussion on patient adherence, Dermatology Times editorial adviser Elaine Siegfried, M.D., continues the discussion with Steven Feldman, M.D., on assessing adherence and intervening to encourage the best possible treatment outcomes. They review a method for developing patient accountability, clinical trial results versus real life, and whole health system incentives for focusing more research in this area. Dr. Feldman is a professor of dermatology at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, N.C.

In this last part of our discussion on patient adherence, Dermatology Times editorial adviser, Elaine Siegfried, M.D., continues the discussion with Steven Feldman, M.D., on assessing adherence and intervening to encourage the best possible treatment outcomes.